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Technological Advancement Tiers
The Technological Advancement Tiers are a joint project by Dr. Daniel Jackson, Col. Samantha Carter and the ISGC to categorize all the species Earth had encountered since the start of the Stargate Program. Eventually they settled on the following system for giving word and form to the varying cultures and their acheivements, deciding that an ability to travel ever-greater distances ultimately made the difference between different peoples. All races fall into one category only, based on the knowledge that they temselves have developed or taken from others (in the latter case, a mastery of another's technology is required to move on on that merit). Tier VII: Pre-Industrial Also referred to as the Agrarian Age. :Hallmarks: As the most-common form of civilization in the known universe, Preindustrial societies form the backbone of galactic life. Limited and comparatively-simple weaponry dominates preindustrial warfare, and power generation is extremely scarce, if it exists to any extent at all. Technology is restricted to its lowest levels, though scientific and philosophical knowledge can be emphasized. These societies are oftentimes the most stable, lasting for many thousands of years without major incident. :Examples: Post-Wraith Athosians, Pegasus Refugees Tier VI: Industrial Age Also known as the Electronic Age, or the Machine Age. :Hallmarks: These societies are scattered across the galactic plane, and hold the most promise for the next generation of rising races. Industrial peoples rely on revolutionary power sources to significantly advance their technological and scientific prowess. Agrarian civilizations typically go extinct at this point, converting to mechanized ones, and their home planet's biosphere traditionally becomes quite unstable with primitive pollutants. The stability of most Industrial societies is a step down from that of Preindustrial ones, as newer and perhaps-feared ideas begin to stem from higher advancement. :Examples: Toholans Tier V: Nuclear Age Also known as the Atomic Age. :Hallmarks: Comprising roughly 8% of known worlds, Atomic civilizations are few but powerful, often possessing weapons with destructive capabilities far beyond those they held mere decades before. Technological advancement focuses on producing clean energy, disease prevention, and anti-ballistic defense systems for protection against nuclear arms. Atomic energy and weaponry define these races, and nuclear holocaust is an uncommon, but not unforeseen, end for them in many cases. Most surviving Atomic peoples, however, successfully pass through these turbulent times and move on. :Examples: Genii, Langarans Tier IV: Interplanetary Also known as the Space Age, or the Information Age. :Hallmarks: For those species that evade extinction during their discoveries of atomic weapons, advancement into the Interplanetary stage brings a wealth of wisdom and wonder. Perception-altering discoveries on a daily basis are not unheard of, and technology advances at an ever-increasing exponential rate. Abundant clean energy allows a world's population to live in contended comfort, and the focus of weaponry becomes efficiency, accuracy, and speed of deployment. These races are capable of constructing ships that can colonize nearby worlds and make contact with close-by neighbours, but lack the technological know-how to construct faster-than-light drive engines on their own. :Examples: Pre-SGC Earth, Galarans Tier III: Interstellar Also known as the Cybernetic Age, or the Colonising Age. :Hallmarks: Arguably the most common of the "advanced" groups in the universe, Interstellar races have managed to unlock the secrets of FTL travel, and have gained the ability to traverse their home galaxy with ease. Most of these species have overcome internal diversity, though short civil wars are not an uncommon occurance. Projectile and nuclear weaponry is largely sidelined during the Interstellar stage in favor of energized plasma, and power generation largely shifts to high-yield extraction methods. The governments of these civilizations are quite stable, despite the downward trend of religious belief and influence. Near-instantaneous communication, artificial intelligences, and energy shields are examples of typical Interstellar-tier technologies, often leading to either prolonged peace and prosperity or devastating cross-planetary warfare. :Examples: Wraith, Goa'uld & Tok'ra, Travelers, Jaffa (Free & Loyalist), Aschen, Hebridan Federation (Hebridians/Serrakin), Ashellian, Confederate Systems Tier II: Intergalactic Also known as the Post-Cybernetic Age. :Hallmarks: The pinnacle of most civilizations comes with the breaking of the galactic mold, so-to-speak. Once a species has mastered FTL travel to the extent that they can move beyond their home system, quadrant, and galaxy, they have achieved more than nearly all others in the known universe. Technological advancement traditionally slows at this point due to the narrowing of ideas; at the Intergalactic level, most races begin to lose the ability to think on a "lower" level, stifling their ability to move forward to some degree. Weaponry reaches its most-powerful and devastating, and blasts capable of leveling whole cityscapes in a single brush are not outside these civilizations' reach. Travel between star systems can be reduced to mere moments, and between galaxies can take only a matter of days. The most-common attribute of an Intergalactic society is the establishment of colonies inside other star clusters, alongside vessels of staggering size. Stability in such peoples can vary by race, and no single measurement can accurately be made. :Examples: Asgard, Replicators/Asurans, Post-2007 Tau'ri, Inol Tier I: Ascendant :Hallmarks: For a civilization to reach the Ascendant level is an astonishing achievement indeed. By this time, a species has gained the ability to affect things on a cross-galactic scale, establishing settlements and outposts on thousands of worlds. Such groups possess the knowledge to actually create life from nothingness, either in organic or synthetic form, and have the means to transport them via advanced methods to any of their territories. Weaponry becomes its most-refined at this stage, usually consisting of methods of extreme precision or scope, though the races at this level most-often abhor warfare or violence of any type. Technological progress typically ends with the discovery of ascension, the ability to transcend the corporal form and exist as nothing but pure energy. Once a society has unlocked this, ascension itself quickly follows, ending a peoples' existence in the mortal plane. :Examples: Alterans (Ancients/Ori) * Category:International Stargate Command